Religious Education

Religious Education at Petersfield

The aims of Religious Education in Church schools are:

(The Church of England Education Office Statement of Entitlement 2016)

The broad aims of religious education (RE) are set out within the Locally Agreed Syllabus (2023-2028) are:

• to develop religious literacy;

• to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions and world views represented locally, nationally, and globally;

• to develop an understanding of the influence of the beliefs, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies, and cultures;

• to develop attitudes of respect towards other people who hold views and beliefs different from their own;

• to develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious issues, with reference to the principal religions and world views represented locally, nationally, and globally.

Throughout the RE curriculum, pupils should be encouraged to explore religions and worldviews, engage with their knowledge, and reflect on their learning and their lives.

From 2024, following support from the County RE Advisor, Religious Education is taught using the Kapow scheme of work. It is a cohesive and progressive scheme of work with built in assessment opportunities, thorough planning for the non-specialist teacher and support for subject knowledge for teachers. Our schools aims and focus on a balance of Christianity and other world religions and world views remains the same. Our RE Policy will be updated to outline the curriculum changes once all the Kapow units and documents have been published.

As an Aided School with a Christian foundation, in each year there is a focus on Christianity plus the opportunity for pupils to learn about other world religions and view and to evaluate their own views. RE enables pupils to appreciate their own and others’ beliefs and cultures, helping them to develop a clear understanding of the significance of religion in their own area as well as in the world today.

RE intends to promote religious understanding and respect, and to challenge prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping.

It is concerned with the promotion of each pupil’s self-worth, enabling them to reflect on their uniqueness as human beings, to share their feelings and emotions with others and to appreciate the importance of forming and maintaining positive relationships.

We strongly believe that the purpose of RE is about religious literacy. This means we aim for children to be able to hold a balanced and well-informed conversation about religion and belief. In order to fulfil this purpose we provide a balance of theology, philosophy and human/social sciences within our RE lessons.